Information-gathering device

ABSTRACT

To provide a user-friendly information-gathering device enabling users to select buttons easily. An information-gathering device has a plurality of selection buttons, a communication module, and a cancel button. The communication module has an IC chip and a button cell. The IC chip has a storage which stores information for identifying the pressed selection button and information about the time of the press, in chronological order, a controller which performs control to store the information in the storage, and a wireless communication unit. When the cancel button is pressed, the controller stores, in the storage, information requesting to cancel press information about the selection button pressed immediately before the cancel button is pressed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.14/375,290, filed Jul. 29, 2014, which was the National Stage ofInternational Application No. PCT/JP2013/051125, filed Jan. 22, 2013,which designated the United States, the entireties of which areincorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a sheet-like information-gatheringdevice capable of wirelessly transmitting press information about abutton to a host device through a communication module.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

A sheet-like test device made by forming conductive patterns on a sheetthrough serigraph, and electrically connecting terminals of theconductive patterns to pads of a communication module through conductiveadhesive has been put to practical use (see JP-A 2008-516248 (Kokai)).

The test device disclosed in this publication can be sent to a user as amail. When the user receives it and removes the cover sheet, the usercan find some selection buttons and explanations thereof on the innerpage. When the user presses an arbitrary selection button in accordancewith the explanations, the information is stored in a communicationmodule embedded in a paper substrate, and the stored information can beread into a host device through close proximity wireless communication.

However, in the test device disclosed in JP-A 2008-516248 (Kokai), theuser cannot cancel a selection button pressed by mistake, andinformation about the selection button pressed by mistake is directlytransmitted to the host device.

Further, each selection button is connected to a terminal having adifferent conductive pattern, which means that the total number ofselection buttons is limited by the number of terminals of theconductive patterns. Since the size of the paper substrate is limited,it is not easy to increase the number of terminals of the conductivepatterns, which makes it impossible to provide many selection buttons.

As another problem, when many selection buttons are provided on thepaper substrate, it is not easy for elderly people or disability peopleto select an appropriate button and it takes much time to read theexplanation generally described in small print.

The present invention has been made considering the above problems, toprovide a user-friendly information-gathering device enabling users toselect buttons easily.

In order to solve the above problems, one aspect of the presentinvention provides a sheet-like information-gathering device including:

a plurality of selection buttons to be pressed by a user; and

a communication module capable of storing at least identificationinformation about the user and information about a pressed selectionbutton, to wirelessly transmit the stored information to a host devicehas a cancel button to cancel the information about the selection buttonpressed by the user,

wherein the communication module has an IC chip and a button cell whichsupplies power-supply voltage to this IC chip,

the IC chip having:

a storage which stores information which identifies the pressedselection button and information about the time of the press, inchronological order;

a controller which performs control to store the information in thestorage; and

a wireless communication unit which performs close proximity wirelesscommunication with the host device,

the controller, when the cancel button is pressed, to store, in thestorage, information requesting to cancel press information about theselection button pressed immediately before the cancel button ispressed.

Further, another aspect of the present invention provides aninformation-gathering device including:

a plurality of buttons arranged on a first layer of a sheet substrate,to be arbitrarily selected;

a plurality of switch contacts arranged on a second layer of the sheetsubstrate, corresponding to the buttons;

a terminal unit having a plurality of terminals arranged on a line onthe second layer; and

a plurality of conductive patterns connecting the switch contacts to theterminals,

in which two or more of the buttons are partially arranged in onedirection so that one ends of switch contacts corresponding to thebuttons are connected to an identical terminal of the terminal unitthrough the conductive patterns, and that the other ends thereof areconnected to a ground terminal of the terminal unit through theconductive patterns.

The present invention can provide a user-friendly information-gatheringdevice enabling users to select buttons easily.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an external view of an information-gathering device accordingto a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a development view of the information-gathering device of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of acommunication module 10.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal structureof an ASIC 12.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of a use procedure of a doserecord card 1 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a development view of a paper substrate 30 serving as the baseof the dose record card 1.

FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining a manufacturing process of the doserecord card 1 according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the information-gathering device accordingto a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a development view of the information-gathering device of FIG.8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained indetail.

First Embodiment

A first embodiment is characterized in recording the date and time whena patient takes medicine and his/her condition after taking themedicine. FIG. 1 is an external view of an information-gathering deviceaccording to the first embodiment. The information-gathering device ofFIG. 1 is a foldable sheet-like dose record card 1 made of paper orplastic sheet. When unfolding the dose record card 1, an informationinput face 2 appears as shown in FIG. 2.

After a patient has a medical examination in the hospital andprescription medicine for the patient is dispensed, the dose record card1 of FIG. 1 is passed to the patient. With this dose record card 1, thepatient can record his/her physical condition by pressing selectionbuttons by him/herself after taking medicine.

The information input face 2 of the dose record card 1 of FIG. 2 hasthree faces: a first face 2 a having a start button 3 and a cancelbutton 4; a second face 2 b having medicine (pills) 5 to be taken by thepatient; and a third face 2 c having selection buttons for inputting thesymptom level of the patient. The characters “dose record card 1” aredescribed on the back face of the first face 2 a, as shown in FIG. 1.

On the third face 2 c, a plurality of symptoms are described in relationto the efficacy of the medicine. In the example of FIG. 2, five types ofsymptoms, which are namely (1) Symptom 1, (2) Symptom 2, (3) Symptom 3,(4) Symptom 4, and (5) Symptom 5, are described, and the patient canselect one of three levels (severe, moderate, and mild) concerning eachsymptom. The patient first selects a specific symptom by pressing anyone selection button in a first button line 6 having selection buttons 6a to 6 e corresponding to five types of symptoms, and then presses anyone selection button in second button lines 7 having selection buttons 7a to 7 c corresponding to the levels of each symptom. In this way, thepatient can input the level of a specific symptom after taking medicine.The patient is not necessarily required to answer on all of the fivetypes of symptoms, and may answer on only a part of symptoms.

As shown in FIG. 2, the selection buttons 6 a to 6 e constituting thefirst button line 6 are arranged in the X-direction, and the selectionbuttons constituting the second button lines 7 are arranged in theY-direction to form a plurality of lines nearly in parallel to the firstbutton line 6.

Note that the symptoms and their levels described on the third face 2 care shown merely as an example, and those may be arbitrarily changeddepending on the type of medicine.

The patient initially presses the start button 3 when using the doserecord card 1. After that, the patient takes medicine by pushing with afinger a case of a pill 5 arranged on the second face 2 b to take outthe pill 5 from the underside of the second face 2 b. Then, the patientpresses selection buttons 6 and 7 applicable to the symptom level aftertaking the medicine.

Information about the start button 3, cancel button 4, cases of thepills 5, and selection buttons 6 and 7 pressed by the patient isautomatically stored in a communication module incorporated in the doserecord card 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a schematic structure of acommunication module 10. The communication module 10 of FIG. 3, which isa thin film having a thickness smaller than that of paper, has an ASIC(Application Specific Integrated Circuit) 12 mounted on a film substrate11, a crystal oscillator 13, a button cell 14, a speaker 15, a pluralityof pads 16 formed along the long side of the film substrate 11, anantenna pattern 17 formed along the outer edge of the film substrate 11,and conductive patterns 18 formed on the film substrate 11.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the internal structure of thecommunication module 10, and each circuit component and patternarrangement can be arbitrarily changed in size, shape, and number in theactual configuration.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the internal structureof the ASIC 12. The ASIC 12 of FIG. 4 has a storage 21 which storesinformation about the start button 3, cancel button 4, respective casesof the pills 5, and selection buttons, each of buttons being pressed bythe patient together with time information in chronological order, acontroller 22 which performs control to store the press information inthe storage 21, and a wireless communication unit 23 which wirelesslycommunicates with a host computer (not shown).

The storage 21 stores information for identifying a button pressed bythe patient together with information about the time when the button waspressed. The cancel button 4 is provided to cancel the information aboutthe button pressed immediately before the cancel button 4 is pressed.When the storage 21 stores information identifying the press of thecancel button 4 and information about the time when the button waspressed, the host computer cancels the information about the buttonpressed immediately before the cancel button 4 is pressed.

Such a cancel button 4 makes it possible to cancel the information aboutthe button pressed immediately before the cancel button 4 is pressed.Actually, it is impossible to eliminate or overwrite the informationonce stored in the storage 21. When incorrect information is stored inthe storage 21 by mistake, information showing that the storedinformation is incorrect is additionally stored by pressing the cancelbutton 4. This makes it possible for the host computer to simply andcorrectly judge whether the information read thereby is correct.Further, the patient is freed from a mental burden that no mistake isacceptable, since the patient can redo the button operation as manytimes as he/she likes.

The wireless communication unit 23 transmits/receives informationto/from the host computer through so-called NFC (Near FieldCommunication, close proximity wireless communication). The system andfrequency band used in the wireless communication by the wirelesscommunication unit 23 should not be particularly limited. For example,the wireless communication may be performed in 13.56 MHz band using awireless method based on ISO 14443.

The NFC, which can transmit and receive power based on its standards,makes it theoretically possible to drive the communication module 10without a cell. Note that the communication module 10 of the presentembodiment has the button cell 14 since it has the speaker 15 consumingrelatively large amount of power.

It is inevitable that the button cell 14 is dead after long-term use.Since the dose record card 1 according to the present embodiment isgenerally made of paper undurable to long-term use, it is based on theassumption that the dose record card 1 itself is exchanged when thebattery is dead.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing an example of a use procedure of the doserecord card 1 of FIG. 1. First, a doctor or a medical expert in thehospital initializes the dose record card 1 having predeterminedprescription medicine embedded therein by passing the dose record card 1over a reader connected to the host computer, and then information foridentifying the patient is stored in the storage 21 in the dose recordcard 1 (Step S1). Further, date and time when the patient should takethe pills are written by hand etc. beside each pill embedded in thesecond face 2 b. This write operation is not essential, and may behandled by the patient as needed.

After that, the dose record card 1 is passed to the patient (Step S2).The patient opens the dose record card 1, and presses the start button 3first before taking a pill (Step S3). After that, the patient pushes outand takes a pill at a specified time (Step S4).

After taking the pill, the patient presses a selection buttoncorresponding to an applicable symptom level, in accordance with thedescription on the third face 2 c (Step S5).

Press information about the start button 3 and the case of each pill 5pressed by the patient is automatically stored in the storage 21 of thecommunication module 10, together with time information. Further, whenthe start button 3 or selection button is incorrectly pressed, thepatient presses the cancel button 4 immediately after the mistake tostore, in the storage 21, information showing that the previous pressinformation is incorrect. In this way, incorrect button operation can bepractically cancelled.

The patient brings the dose record card 1 to the hospital after takingall medicines or at the time of the next medical examination (Step S6).Then, a doctor or a medical expert in the hospital receives the doserecord card 1 from the patient, and passes it over the reader connectedto the host computer to read the information stored in the storage 21 ofthe dose record card 1 into the host computer and to display theinformation on a screen (Step S7). The doctor performs a medicalexamination on the patient referring to the information stored in thedose record card 1 and displayed on the screen to check the efficacy ofthe taken medicine (Step S8).

Since the dose record card 1 stores every symptom felt by the patientafter taking the medicine, the doctor can correctly and concretely graspthe symptoms of the patient after taking the prescription medicine inchronological order without relying on the patient's memory, which makesit possible to treat the patient accurately while preventing diagnosticerrors.

Next, a concrete structure of the dose record card 1 according to thepresent embodiment will be explained. The above-mentioned dose recordcard 1 has a three-layer structure obtained by folding a paper substratein three in the longitudinal direction so that the information inputface 2 shown in FIG. 2 appears on the top face. Further, folding thispaper substrate into three in the lateral direction leads to thestructure shown in FIG. 1. Hereinafter, conductive patterns formed on abase paper substrate will be explained.

FIG. 6 is a development view of a paper substrate 30 serving as the baseof the dose record card 1. Divisional substrates 30 a, 30 b, and 30 care obtained by dividing the paper substrate 30 of FIG. 6 into three inthe longitudinal direction along folding lines 61, the divisionalsubstrates having different conductive patterns 18, openings, etc. Notethat these three divisional substrates 30 a-30 c are foldable along thefolding lines 61, and are not physically separated from each other.

The divisional substrate 30 b in the middle of FIG. 6 is a lowermostsubstrate 30 b arranged in the bottom layer and having the conductivepatterns 18 formed thereon. The divisional substrate 30 c on the rightside of the lowermost substrate 30 b is an intermediate substrate 30 carranged on the lowermost substrate 30 b and having mainly openings 62and perforations 63. The divisional substrate 30 a on the left side ofthe lowermost substrate 30 b is an uppermost substrate 30 a arranged onthe intermediate substrate 30 c and having conductive patterns 38 forestablishing/breaking electrical continuity of switch contacts.

As mentioned later, the structure of FIG. 2 can be obtained by dividingthe paper substrate 30 into three, folding the intermediate substrate 30c over the lowermost substrate 30 b, bonding them throughthermo-compression, folding the uppermost substrate 30 a over theintermediate substrate 30 c, and bonding them throughthermo-compression. Therefore, the back face of the uppermost substrate30 a shown in FIG. 6 corresponds to the information input face 2 shownin FIG. 2.

Before folding the intermediate substrate 30 c over the lowermostsubstrate 30 b to bond them through thermo-compression, thecommunication module 10 is joined on the lowermost substrate 30 b andthe intermediate substrate 30 c is bonded thereon throughthermo-compression. In this way, the communication module 10 issandwiched between the lowermost substrate 30 b and the intermediatesubstrate 30 c. Accordingly, the conductive patterns 18 and thecommunication module 10 formed on the lowermost substrate 30 b are notvisible externally when the dose record card 1 is completed. Similarly,the conductive patterns on the uppermost substrate 30 a are not visibleexternally since the uppermost substrate 30 a is folded over theintermediate substrate 30 c and these are bonded throughthermo-compression.

Next, the conductive patterns 18 formed on the lowermost substrate 30 bwill be explained using FIG. 6. The conductive patterns 18 of FIG. 6 areformed on first to third pattern faces 30 b 1 to 30 b 3 corresponding tothe first to third faces 2 a to 2 c obtained by dividing the informationinput face 2 into three in the lateral direction.

The first pattern face 30 b 1 has a switch contact 31 corresponding tothe start button 3, and a switch contact 32 corresponding to the cancelbutton 4. The second pattern face 30 b 2 has six switch contacts 33corresponding to the cases of the pills 5. The third pattern face 30 b 3has 15 switch contacts 34 to 37 corresponding to the selection buttonsfor selecting the symptom and symptom level of the patient.

Of the switch contacts 31 to 37, the six switch contacts 33corresponding to the cases of the pills 5 are electrically connected inthe initial state, and the other switch contacts 31, 32, and 34 to 37are electrically disconnected in the initial state.

The switch contact 33 corresponding to the case of each pill 5 isphysically broken and electrically disconnected when the case is pressedto take out the pill. Each of the other switch contacts 31, 32, and 34to 37 is electrically connected temporarily only while its correspondingbutton is pressed and the circular conductive pattern 38 provided on theback face of the information input face 2 touches its correspondingswitch contact.

As stated above, in the initial state, some of the switch contacts 31 to37 are electrically connected while the others are electricallydisconnected. The state of each switch contact can be switched byphysically breaking the switch contact, or by bringing the switchcontact into contact with another conductive pattern.

One ends of the switch contacts 31 to 37 shown in FIG. 6 are connectedto their corresponding terminals in a terminal unit 39 on the firstpattern face 30 b 1 through the conductive patterns 18, and the otherends thereof are connected to a ground terminal through the conductivepatterns 18. The terminal unit 39 has terminals corresponding to thetotal number of switch contacts, and ground terminals provided on theboth sides of the terminal unit 39. The conductive pattern (hereinafterreferred to as ground pattern 18 a) extending from the ground terminalsis formed along the outer edge of the first to third pattern faces 30 b3 to surround other conductive patterns and switch contacts. This groundpattern 18 a is formed thicker than the other conductive patterns toreduce noises.

As stated above, every switch contacts is connected between itscorresponding terminal and the ground pattern 18 a. Therefore, when thestate of any one switch contact changes, information about the change istransmitted to the communication module 10 through a dedicated terminal.The storage 21 in the communication module 10 stores information foridentifying the switch contact whose state changed and information aboutthe time when the state of the contact point changed.

The switch contacts on the third pattern face 30 b 3 are grouped into afirst switch contact line 34 corresponding to the first button linearranged in the X-direction, and second switch contact lines 35 to 37corresponding to the second button lines arranged in the Y-direction tobe nearly in parallel to the first button line.

One ends of five switch contacts constituting each of the second switchcontact lines 35 to 37 are connected to a common terminal, and the otherends thereof are connected to the ground terminal. These five switchcontacts are connected in parallel. The example of FIG. 6 shows threesecond switch contact lines 35 to 37 each having five switch contactsconnected in parallel.

When there is a change in the state of any one of switch contacts 35 to37 connected in parallel, information about the state change istransmitted to the communication module 10 through the same terminal,which means that the information is not enough to enable thecommunication module 10 to identify which switch contact changed. Thus,in the present embodiment, the state of a switch contact in the firstswitch contact line 34 should be changed before changing the state of aswitch contact in the second switch contact lines 35 to 37, which is arule defined to identify which one of the switch contacts in the secondswitch contact lines 35 to 37 changed.

More concretely, the state of any one switch contact in the first switchcontact line 34 is changed first, to detect the position of this switchcontact in the X-direction. Then, three switch contacts which areincluded in the second switch contact lines 35 to 37 and positioned inthe same X-direction are determined as selection options. Next, if thestate of any one of these three switch contacts changed, informationabout the switch contact is transmitted to the communication module 10.

As stated above, the combination of information about a change in thestate of a switch contact in the first switch contact line 34 andinformation about a change in the state of a switch contact in thesecond switch contact lines 35 to 37 makes it possible to correctlytransmit the state of a specific switch contact in the second switchcontact lines 35 to 37 to the communication module 10.

Connecting one ends of a plurality of parallel-connected switch contactsto a common terminal achieves reduction in the total number of terminalsin the terminal unit 39 and the number of the conductive patterns 18,which is effective particularly when the pattern area is limited.Although a plurality of switch contacts in the second switch contactlines 35 to 37 are connected in parallel, there is no practical problem,since the state of a specific switch contact in the second switchcontact lines 35 to 37 can be correctly identified by referring to thestate of a switch contact in the first switch contact line 34 arrangedin parallel to the second switch contact lines 35 to 37.

FIG. 7 is a diagram explaining a manufacturing process of the doserecord card 1 according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, amanufacturing process of the dose record card 1 according to the firstembodiment will be explained using FIG. 7. First, predeterminedcharacter information (e.g., character information on the face of FIG. 1or FIG. 2) is printed on the back face of the paper substrate 30 havingthe size as shown in FIG. 6 (Step S11). Next, the conductive patterns18, switch contacts 31 to 37, and terminals of the terminal unit 39 areformed on the lowermost substrate 30 b in the middle of the threedivisional substrates shown in FIG. 6 (Step S12). Similarly, thecircular conductive patterns 38 are formed on the uppermost substrate 30a, corresponding to the positions of the switch contacts. These areformed through serigraph using, e.g., conductive carbon, copper oxide,or silver.

Next, anisotropic conductive adhesive is applied nearly on the entiresurface of the lowermost substrate 30 b and uppermost substrate 30 a,avoiding the parts around the switch contacts 31 to 37, the location ofthe communication module 10, and the parts around the conductivepatterns 38 (Step S13). Even when this anisotropic conductive adhesive,which has electroconductivity only in one direction (X-direction), isapplied on the terminals of the terminal unit 39 and on the conductivepatterns 18, there is no fear that different terminals areshort-circuited to each other.

Note that it is also possible to attach a conductive adhesive tape onlyto the terminal unit 39, while applying non-conductive adhesive on theother parts. The basic material of the adhesive or adhesive tape isepoxy resin or acrylic resin compounded with particles of a conductivematerial.

Next, the outline of the paper substrate 30 is cut and shaped using ametal mold, and the folding line 61 is formed at the boundary of eachdivisional substrate by performing a creasing process (Step S14). Inthis process, on the intermediate substrate 30 c, the holes (openings)62 are formed at the positions corresponding to the communication module10 and respective buttons, and the perforations 63 are formed at thepositions corresponding to the pills 5. Further, folding lines 64 areformed in each divisional substrate to divide the divisional substrateinto three in the lateral direction.

Next, the intermediate substrate 30 c is folded over the lowermostsubstrate 30 b along the folding line 61 to glue and bond the divisionalsubstrates through thermo-compression using a roller (Step S15).

Next, the communication module 10 is mounted on the first pattern face30 b 1 exposed through a hole provided in the intermediate substrate 30c (Step S16). Here, the pads 16 of the communication module 10 arepositionally adjusted to the terminal unit 39 on the first pattern face30 b 1, and those are bonded through thermo-compression using theabove-mentioned anisotropic conductive adhesive or conductive tape.

Next, the uppermost substrate 30 a is folded over the intermediatesubstrate 30 c along the folding line 61 to glue and bond the divisionalsubstrates through thermo-compression using a roller (Step S17). Byperforming the process as stated above, the dose record card 1 shown inFIG. 2 is completed.

As stated above, the dose record card 1 according to the firstembodiment has the cancel button 4 for cancelling the button operationimmediately before the cancel button 4 is pressed, in addition tovarious selection buttons such as the start button 3, which eliminatesthe fear that incorrect information due to incorrect button operation istransmitted to the communication module 10 without cancel information,and improves reliability of the information transmitted to thecommunication module 10 and host computer.

Further, the cancel button 4 can reduce a mental burden on the patientthinking that no mistake is acceptable in the button operation.

Further, since parallel-connected switch contacts corresponding at leasta part of selection buttons 35 to 37 are connected to the same terminal,selection buttons can be provided in the card as many as possiblewithout being influenced by the total number of terminals in theterminal unit 39 and the number of the pads 16 of the communicationmodule 10. This makes it possible to store various types of selectioninformation in the communication module 10, and to gather the efficacyof medicine taken by the patient in more detail. Further, although aplurality of parallel-connected switch contacts are connected to thesame terminal, there is no practical problem, since information aboutthe press of a specific button can be correctly detected and transmittedto the communication module 10 by referring to other switch contacts.

Further, since the switch contacts corresponding to the selectionbuttons 35 to 37 are connected in parallel, the arrangement of theselection buttons 35 to 37 can be arbitrarily changed, which increasesdegrees of freedom of the arrangement of the buttons while making iteasy to select a user-friendly button arrangement for lessening thefrequency of incorrect operation.

Second Embodiment

A second embodiment to be explained below is characterized in thearrangement of switch contacts which is different from the firstembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the information-gathering device accordingto the second embodiment of the present invention. Theinformation-gathering device of FIG. 8 is a distress level record card40 for recording the distress level of the patient, and FIG. 9 shows adevelopment view thereof. Folding this development view leads to anappearance similar to FIG. 1.

The distress level record card 40 of FIG. 8 has the information inputface 2 having the first to third faces 2 a to 2 c. The first face 2 ahas a start button (start instruction button) 41, three selectionbuttons 42 for selecting a distress level of the patient, and a doserecord button 43 to be pressed after taking medicine. The second face 2b has a stop button 44 (start instruction button) 44 for stopping alarm,and three selection buttons 45 for selecting a distress level of thepatient. The third face 2 c has a start button 46 for starting checkinga discomfort level, and three selection buttons 47 for selecting adiscomfort level of the patient.

In the distress level record card 40 of FIG. 8, when the patient pressesthe dose record button 43 after taking medicine, the alarm automaticallyrings one hour later. When the alarm rings, the patient first stops thealarm by pressing the stop button 44, and then selects a distress levelagain.

After pressing the start button on the first face 2 a, the patientoperates buttons sequentially from the top to the bottom followinginstructions, which is the use originally intended. As a general rule,it is required to correctly press a specified button in the buttonoperation. However, it may be difficult for the patient confused with asudden alarm ring to find the stop button 44 immediately. As a result,the alarm continues ringing for a long time, which may impose anunnecessary mental burden on the patient.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the same function can befulfilled by pressing any one of the start buttons 41 and 46 and stopbutton 44. That is, when any one of the start buttons 41 and 46 and stopbutton 44 is pressed, the same selection information is transmitted tothe communication module 10. Thus, the patient is allowed to press anyone of the three buttons, i.e. the start buttons 41 and 46 and stopbutton 44, to stop the alarm. This makes it possible to select a buttoneasily, which leads to the improvement of the convenience of thepatient.

Further, in the distress level record card 40 of FIG. 8, after pressingany one of the start buttons 41 and 46 or after pressing the stop button44, the patient is required to select a distress level or a discomfortlevel from the selection buttons 42, 45, and 47. Since these selectionbuttons are provided corresponding to each of the start buttons 41 and46 and stop button 44, it is possible to correctly detect whether theselection button pressed by the patient shows the distress levelinitially selected, the distress level selected again after that, or thediscomfort level selected after that. Thus, press information about theselection buttons 42, 45, and 47 can be correctly transmitted to thecommunication module 10, regardless of which one of the two startbuttons 41 and 46 and stop button 44 was pressed by the patient.

Accordingly, in the present embodiment, the patient is allowed to pressany one of the two start buttons 41 and 46 and stop button 44 beforepressing the selection buttons 42, 45, and 47 concerning distress levelor discomfort level.

For example, when the alarm starts ringing, the patient may stop thealarm by pressing the start button 41 or 46 on the first informationinput face 2 or third information input face 2, before selecting aselection button on the second information input face 2.

FIG. 9 shows three divisional substrates obtained by dividing thedistress level record card 40 of FIG. 8 into three in the longitudinaldirection. The lowermost substrate 30 b in the middle has the first tothird pattern faces 30 b 1 to 30 b 3 obtained by dividing the lowermostsubstrate 30 b into three in the lateral direction. Each pattern facehas switch contacts 51 to 57 corresponding to the start buttons 41 and46, stop button 44, and selection buttons. Further, the uppermostsubstrate 30 a on the left side of the lowermost substrate 30 b has thecircular conductive patterns 38 for switching between electricalconnection and disconnection of the switch contacts.

As stated above, in the present embodiment, the same function can befulfilled by pressing any one of the two start buttons 41 and 46 andstop button 44, without identifying each button. In order to achievethis feature, the three switch contacts 51, 54, and 56 corresponding tothe three buttons 41, 44, and 46 are connected in parallel so that oneends of the switch contacts are connected to a common terminal and theother ends thereof are connected to a ground terminal. Thus, when anyone of the two start buttons 41 and 46 and stop button 44 is pressed,the same press information is transmitted to the communication module10.

As stated above, in the second embodiment, so that the same function isfulfilled when any one of the switch buttons 41 and 46 and stop button44 is pressed, switch contacts 51, 54, and 56 corresponding to thesebuttons are connected in parallel, one ends thereof are connected to acommon terminal and the other ends thereof are connected to a groundterminal. Accordingly, the patient can press a button at the positionhe/she can press easily, which improves convenience. Particularly, whenquick response is required for the patient to stop the sound of thealarm for example, the patient has no need to make an effort to search abutton, which prevents a mental burden on the patient.

ANOTHER MODIFICATION EXAMPLE

Each of the first and second embodiments is shown as an example, and anychanges may be made in the arrangement and number of various buttons,the arrangement and number of switch contacts corresponding to thebuttons, forms of the conductive patterns 18 connected to the switchcontacts, and the number of terminals of the terminal unit 39, dependingon the intended use of the information-gathering device.

The characteristics of the first embodiment and the characteristics ofthe second embodiment may be arbitrarily combined together. For example,the distress level record card 40 according to the second embodiment mayhave a cancel button, or the dose record card 1 according to the firstembodiment may have a plurality of buttons having the same function.

The information-gathering devices according to the first and secondembodiments should not be limited only to the dose record card 1 anddistress level record card 40, and can be applied to various purposes(e.g., follow-up record card for diabetes treatment, follow-up recordcard for rheumatism treatment, pain/dose record card, etc.) Further, theinformation-gathering device should not be necessarily limited tomedical purposes, and may be used for various purposes such asquestionnaire gathering, as long as the information-gathering device canrecord any information and transmit the recorded information to the hostcomputer through wireless communication.

The assembly structure of the information-gathering devices according tothe first and second embodiments should not be limited to FIG. 6 etc.The base material should not be necessarily paper, and may be replacedwith another material such as resin. Further, the communication module10 should not be necessarily a cell-driven type, and may be drivenwithout a battery by accumulating power received through NFC to performwireless communication using the accumulated power.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methods and systems describedherein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods andsystems described herein may be made without departing from the spiritof the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents areintended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within thescope and spirit of the inventions.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An information-gathering device comprising:a cancel button arranged on a first layer of a sheet substrate so as tobe chosen arbitrarily; a first switch contact which is arranged on asecond layer of the sheet substrate and corresponds to the cancelbutton; a terminal unit arranged on the second layer; a first conductivepattern which is arranged on the second layer and connects the firstswitch contact and the terminal unit; and a circuit module which isimplemented on the second layer and electrically connected to theterminal unit, wherein the circuit module comprises a storage whichstores information requesting to cancel press information about theselection button pressed immediately before the cancel button ispressed.
 2. The information gathering device of claim 1, wherein thecircuit module comprises: an IC chip comprising the storage; and abutton cell which supplies the IC chip with a power supply voltage. 3.The information-gathering device of claim 2, wherein the IC chipcomprises: a controller which controls storing information into thestorage; and a wireless communication unit which performs closeproximity wireless communication with a host device, the circuit moduletransmitting wirelessly the information stored in the storage to thehost device.
 4. The information-gathering device of claim 1, a pluralityof selection buttons arranged on the first layer so as to be chosenarbitrarily; a plurality of second switch contacts which are disposed onthe second layer and correspond to the plurality of selection buttons; aplurality of terminals which are arranged at one line on the terminalunit and correspond to the plurality of second switch contacts; and aplurality of second conductive patterns which connect the plurality ofsecond switch contacts and the plurality of terminals.
 5. Theinformation gathering device of claim 4, wherein the storage storesinformation identifying a button which has been pressed and timeinformation as a group.